1. Hurricane Names
June marks the start of hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. A weather group called the World Meteorological Organization names hurricanes and tropical storms each year in alphabetical order, alternating between women's names and men's names. This year's first four storms will be Alex, Bonnie, Colin and Danielle. Other names on the list include Gaston, Igor, Fiona and Tomas. For fun, make an alphabet list of names from the newspaper that you think would be good for hurricanes. For each, write why you think it would be a good hurricane name.
Learning Standard: Acquiring information from multiple sources and then organizing and evaluating it; writing fluently for multiple purposes.
2. Back from Space
On June 24, 1983, Sally Ride safely returned to planet Earth and earned the distinction as the first American woman to successfully travel in space. A former tennis champion, Ride decided to become an astronaut in 1977 while studying English and the science of physics. She was one of 8,000 people who applied for 35 spots in the NASA training program. With a partner, look through today's newspaper, or use the Internet, to find jobs that sound interesting to you. Do some research and find out what qualifications you would need to get one job you would like. Make a plan of things that you could do to become a strong candidate for the job.
Learning Standard: Writing fluently for multiple purposes.
3. Three-Day Weekends
How would you like to go to school just four days a week, and have three-day weekends? More than 120 U.S. school districts are switching to a shorter schedule to save money on things like electricity in schools and gas for buses. In today's economy, many people are looking for ways to save money. In the newspaper, find three ads for an item your family uses. Cut out or print the ads. Which is the best deal? What is the difference between the highest and lowest price? Which store would be the easiest to get to for your family?
Learning Standards: Acquiring information from written, electronic and visual sources; drawing, explaining and justifying conclusions based on data.
4. Big Words
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced earlier this month that there would be a voluntary recall of 12 million "Shrek" drinking glasses sold at McDonald's because the paint used on them contains cadmium, a metal that can cause cancer at high levels, damage kidneys and bones or hurt brain development in very young children. Words like "cadmium" may not be known by many readers. Search the newspaper for a word new to you. Look up the definition of the word in the dictionary or on the Internet. Write a complete sentence using your new word.
Learning Standard: Determining the meaning of unfamiliar words and concepts in written, oral and visual texts by using a variety of resources, such as semantic and structural features, prior knowledge, reference materials and electronic sources.
5. Too Much TV
Have you ever added up how much time you spend in front of the TV? For most U.S. children, according to the National Wildlife Federation, it's more than 5,000 hours by the time they start kindergarten. That's a lot of time not spent playing or getting exercise. Health experts feel kids should get 60 minutes of exercise a day to stay healthy, and the wildlife group would like kids to get their exercise outdoors. Doing this not only would help improve physical and mental health, but it could lower the risk of kids being overweight, improve eyesight and reduce attention-deficit symptoms. Search the newspaper for a physical activity you could do for fun if you gave up one TV show you watch each week. Write a paragraph or draw a picture showing you doing that activity and explain why it would be fun or healthy.
Learning Standards: Responding to a variety of oral, visual, written and electronic texts by making connections to students' personal lives and the lives of others; comprehending what constitutes good health and nutrition; using the craft of the illustrator to convey ideas artistically..
